Things To Do
Rookies Sports Lodge
Rookies isn't in wine country, but we wouldn't be here without this place so it deserves the top spot on this list. Most of our first dates were at Rookies, and now we have a standing Wednesday night date every week...and you can also find us there some Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays, and football Sundays...but who's counting? If you are in Willow Glen, stop in and check it out for yourself. And on the off chance we're not there to greet you, you can see our mugs hanging on the ceiling, #34 and #20.
Clif Family Winery
We are members here and absolutely love it! They have a casual tasting room directly next door to our wedding venue. They do tastings by appointment, and they have incredible food pairings made in house. And, if you're looking for a quick bite, they have a great bruschetteria food truck parked outside the tasting room that features seasonal ingredients from the Clif Family Farm! We went to a wine club event here right after we got engaged, and we actually met the owner of Tre Posti while doing a tasting and that is the reason we ended up choosing our venue!
HALL Wines St. Helena
We are members at Walt, the sister winery, but honestly we visit Hall St Helena more. Really delicious cabs!
Napkins Bar & Grill
This is where we met! We wouldn't necessarily recommend you go inside...but it is a fun landmark to point out in downtown Napa!
Farmstead at Long Meadow Ranch
One of our favorite restaurants! We went here on our first trip to Napa together and it has been a staple ever since. You can't go wrong with anything on the menu, but the steak tartare is a non negotiable along with their seasonal beet or peach salads.
The Charter Oak Restaurant
Great dinner spot in town. Known for hearth cooked dishes, and the burger comes highly recommended. Sit outside in the courtyard, it's gorgeous! And hot tip: they offer free corkage on your first bottle of wine!
Gott's Roadside
Delicious casual spot for lunch in downtown. The original Gott's location, previously named Taylor's Refresher, as seen on DDD!
Brasswood Bar + Kitchen
We ate here the night before our engagement photos and absolutely loved it! We recommend getting the hand pulled mozzarella appetizer, it is is off-menu, made in house, and honestly just incredible. We also recommend the brussel sprout salad...but we could have ordered everything on the menu it looked so good.
Charlie's Napa Valley
A family-run, community focused restaurant in downtown St Helena. Great happy hour, dinner, and late night happy hour menus! Perfect place to sit at the bar and enjoy a meal or a cocktail. The chef and owner, Elliot Bell, most recently served as the Executive Sous Chef at Thomas Keller’s The French Laundry, where he spent the past decade of his career. Prior to that, he worked in Boston, Seattle, and New York at several notable restaurants, including Danny Meyer’s Gramercy Tavern.
Cook St. Helena
Cute little Northern Italian restaurant in downtown. Sit at the bar or out on the back patio!
Goose & Gander
Great food and cocktails in downtown St Helena, just off the main street. Get a table on the patio!
The Station
Cute coffee shop in downtown. Laina gets a lavender oat milk latte every time. Grab a coffee and visit the shops in downtown!
NO|MA House Café and Collective
A beautifully designed shop and cafe on Main Street. The perfect spot to grab breakfast and a coffee, or lunch and a glass of wine. Comfortable seating inside, and a lovely front patio with a gorgeous living wall and great people watching!
The Model Bakery
We feel confident in saying that these are the best English muffins in the world. If you're staying at Southbridge they are available to order with your complimentary breakfast, if not it is worth it to walk downtown and get one. Trust us!
Market
We sat at the bar and enjoyed the food, the attentive service, and the local crowd. If they have the filet mignon appetizer, go for it.
Pizzeria Tra Vigne
Casual bar and restaurant at the bottom of the Southbridge Hotel. Catch happy hour every day 4-6pm - $2 oysters! We also highly recommend the hand pulled mozzarella. This is the where the welcome party will be!
Erosion Tap House: Winery & Brewery
Great spot to grab a beer or a glass of wine. They also have house made ice cream and appetizers!
Oxbow Public Market
We try to stop here at least once every time we're in wine country. We love the spice shop, the grocery, and most importantly Hog Island Oyster Co. This has become a non negotiable. Sit at the bar, order a glass of Hog Island Oyster wine, a bowl of the freshest clam chowder there is, and watch them shuck your oysters. The dream!
WALT Wines
This is our wine club in downtown Napa. We love the pinots, and the adorable tasting room is directly across from Oxbox Public Market (another one of our favorite places).
Fieldwork Brewing Company - Napa
Fieldwork recently moved out of Oxbow market and into its own space right next door. Great beers and a fun outdoor beer garden!
Pina Napa Valley
A real hidden gem. While this winery doesn't offer killer views or a luxe tasting room, it does offer five single vineyard cabernet sauvignons so delicious that they make it worthy of a spot on your itinerary.
Rutherford Grill
If you're familiar with Los Altos Grill, this restaurant is part of the same restaurant group and has some of the same iconic menu items.
Mustards Grill
A great farm-to-table style restaurant with a fantastic wine list. The owner of our wedding venue is also part owner here!
RH Yountville Restaurant
Delicious food, and even better ambiance. We went here on our second anniversary, and have been back a few times since. Absolutely gorgeous.
RH Yountville Wine Vault
Same great ambiance you will find at RH Restaurant, but scaled down to wine, champagne, and grazing boards. A great pre dinner stop!
Freemark Abbey Winery
Beautiful winery a few minutes from downtown St Helena. We visited the first year we were dating, and Shawn really liked the a wine called The Josephine. He decided to buy a bottle, but didn't know the price until we got to the register. It was more expensive than we anticipated, but he felt it was too late to back out. So, we decided to hold onto it and open it when we got engaged. It made for a very special dinner at home to celebrate our engagement!
Miner Family Winery
Tasty wines and a nice tasting room with gorgeous vineyard views! Fun fact: They have a partnership with Riedel, so they have a great selection of wine glasses for purchase at the tasting room. The stemless glasses we use at home were purchased here!
Trefethen Family Vineyards
We went to this winery on a trip with friends and really enjoyed the wine! Particularly the OKD Five, and the Dragon's Tooth. Tastings are by appointment.
Darioush
Great tasting experiences by appointment. We've tasted here numerous times and love the wine! Fun fact: if the Proprietor, Darioush Khaledi, is on property the torch out front is lit.
Oakville Grocery
The perfect little market to grab lunch or a snack before a day of wine tasting!
Alpha Omega Winery
Laina used to be a member here. They have really amazing wines, and tastings are lovely overlooking the vineyards and water feature. Call ahead!
Scala Osteria & Bar
Our friends introduced this restaurant to us and it is a hit! Scala is a sister restaurant of Bistro Don Giovanni, located in the heart of downtown Napa. Although it offers a seafood-centric menu, the real star of the show is the pork chop. It’s massive, and can absolutely feed two! We also loved the warm octopus salad and the bourbon & the bees cocktail. Make a reservation, it’s always packed!
Morimoto Napa
Get the rock shrimp...that's all you need to know.
Ciccio
Delicious Italian food and cocktails in Yountville! Shawn had the spiced old fashioned, Laina had the white Negroni, and we shared a the Sicilian sashimi, cacio e pepe gnudi, and a pepperoni pizza. Everything was fantastic and we can’t wait to go back and try their other dishes! $25 corkage if you bring a bottle!
Bistro Jeanty
Cute French bistro in Yountville. Shawn isn't a fan of French food, but he can't deny that the tomato soup en croute, steak tartare, and filet au poivre are really delicious.